Prince Harry Settles Mirror Phone Hacking Case and Calls Out Piers Morgan: He ‘Knew Perfectly Well What Was Going On’
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Prince Harry will receive an interim payment of £400,000 (approximately $504,000) in addition to “substantial” further damages in his phone hacking case against British tabloid The Mirror, according to his lawyer, bringing the suit to a close.
The BBC reported that Harry’s lawyer, David Sherborne, told a judge at London’s High Court on Friday that Mirror Group Newspapers has agreed to pay the prince damages and “all of the costs of his claim, including individual and common costs.” Later on Friday, the BBC said that Prince Harry is expected to receive around £300,000 (approximately $379,000) in total damages. In December, Prince Harry was awarded £140,600 ($180,000) when a judge ruled that there had been “extensive” phone hacking between 2006 and 2011.
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In response to the settlement, MGN said in a statement to the BBC: “We welcomed December’s judgment that gave the business the necessary clarity to move forward from events that took place many years ago. Where historical wrongdoing took place, we apologize unreservedly, have taken full responsibility and paid compensation. We are pleased to have reached this agreement, which gives our business further clarity to move forward from events that took place many years ago and for which we have apologized.”
In a statement, Harry said he will continue to fight back against the tabloid press. “I believe in the positive change it will bring for all of us,” he said in part. “It’s the very reason why I started this, and why I will continue to see it through to the end.”
He also called out former Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan, saying via his lawyer that Morgan “knew perfectly well what was going on, as the judge held.”
“Even his own employer realized it simply could not call him as a witness of truth at the trial,” the statement continued. “His contempt for the court’s ruling and his continued attacks ever since demonstrate why it was so important to obtain a clear and detailed judgement.”
Morgan hit back at Harry on X, formerly known as Twitter, writing: “I totally agree with Prince Harry that ruthless intrusion into the private lives of the Royal Family for financial gain is utterly reprehensible… and I hope he stops doing it.”
Harry sued MGN alleging that more than 30 stories it had printed about him dating back to the early 2000s had been written as a result of “unlawful information gathering,” colloquially known as hacking. In December, the judge said Harry had proved his case in 15 of 33 of those instances.
Harry became the first senior royal in 130 years to testify when he entered the witness box at London’s High Court during the trial in June 2023. The prince was joined in the lawsuit by “Coronation Street” actors Michael Le Vell and Nikki Sanderson and by the ex-wife of comedian Paul Whitehouse, Fiona Wightman.
Harry did not appear in court on Friday, as he had already flown back to his home in California after a 24-hour visit to his father King Charles III, who recently revealed his cancer diagnosis.
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